The hollow man
This is the way the world ends.
Upon hearing the beast's death rattle, you throw down your halberd without a second glance, abandoning the corpse even as hell continues to rage all around.
You don't care about the crimson sky, the shattered landscape, or the weapon that you wielded like it was an extension of your body; you care only for the injured woman that lies in front of you, her unfocused eyes dull with pain.
She manages a weary smile when you cradle her in your arms as gently as you can, one bloody hand coming up to caress your cheek.
"… You won," Futaba manages, sounding weak and tired and so, so proud.
"Shh," you whisper desperately, your well-honed mind studiously ignoring all the harbingers you see; the deathly pale skin, the crimson stain, every agonized breath. "Shh. Rest. Stay with me, okay?"
Futaba shakes her head. "Y-You know I can't," she chastises you with as much affectionate exasperation as she can muster; the last glimpse of normalcy you'll ever have.
"Futaba – "
Her eyes meet yours, and you can see the stars in them just like always.
"A-Are you okay? That monster, it – " and she bites her lip and shudders when another wave of pain crashes through her, tears forming in spite of her best efforts.
"I'm fine," you answer, holding onto her wrist like it's a lifeline and trying to forget that it should have been you. "I'm fine, beloved."
"B-Beloved," she repeats, a hint of her old mischief rising above the tide. "And to think I would have been satisfied with 'dear' – at least something good came out of this, I suppose."
You shut your eyes, trying to will your own tears away.
"N-No," she pleads, tensing in your arms and sounding desperate and lost and scared. "Saeki, don't – look at me, please, I – "
"I'm here," you reassure her, your field of vision once again filled with the light of dying stars. "I'm here, Futaba."
She relaxes and nods, and you know it's enough for her, somehow.
"Saeki."
You've never heard her say your name like that before.
"… What do you think it would have been like?"
"What do you mean?"
"Life," she answers, and something inside you shatters with no hope of repair.
"Amazing."
Futaba smiles as her breathing grows shallower, and this time there's no pain or fear. "I think so too."
You make no effort to wipe away the tears on your cheeks.
This is the way the world ends.
"I'm so glad you're safe," she utters, her eyes fluttering shut. "I'm so glad I met you, I'm so glad we…"
This is the way the world ends.
You pull her close when her words trail off, your lips brushing over her cold forehead over and over again, whispering her name like a prayer.
This is the way the world ends.
Her slim frame is still against yours, her chest rising one last time…
Not with a bang -
Before her final breath leaves through parted lips, taking with it everything that ever made you whole.
- but a whimper.
The stars fall down, and you fall screaming with them.
"This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone."
- T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men